Lead R&D Support Engineer AI (f/m)

Summary / Role Purpose

The SimAI platform is a SaaS AI-based technology that brings unprecedented speed, innovation and accessibility to simulation. It is based on proprietary Deep Learning algorithms at the forefront of AI state of the art. With Ansys SimAI, users can train AI models using simulation results and then can reliably predict the performance of complex problems in minutes instead of hours or days. It empowers users to take faster decisions, make faster iterations and ultimately faster innovation.

As the Lead R&D Support Engineer - AI, you will oversee the end-to-end support pipeline, focusing on designing and maintaining a scalable, robust support system for the SimAI platform. In this position, autonomy is key. This role emphasizes leadership in defining the support strategy, mentoring the support team, and collaborating across departments to ensure excellence in L1 and L2 support processes and achieving the SimAI support goals.

This Lead R&D Support Engineer - AI role is perfect for someone ready to shape the strategy and operations of an advanced AI platform's support ecosystem, driving innovation and excellence in customer service.

Key Duties and Responsibilities

Leadership and Strategy

• Support Framework: Develop and implement a strategy for L1 and L2 support processes for SimAI, focusing on scalability and operational efficiency and in alignment with the SimAI stakeholders.

• Team Oversight: May be responsible for line management of a small technical team but primary duties are of an individual technical nature. Operates without direct supervision and may function as a team leader, project manager, or software architect. Actively seeks out opportunities to transfer knowledge to others, including informal mentorship.

• Stakeholder Collaboration: Act as a liaison between internal teams (R&D, product, cloud support) and external stakeholders to align support processes with business goals.

Customer Interaction (L1 support):

• Customer Communication: Act as the primary point of contact for escalated issues, providing clear and concise updates to customers.
• Relationship Management: Build and maintain strong relationships with key customers, understanding their needs and ensuring their satisfaction. You might be involved in trainings or documentation requests.

Advanced Technical Support (L2 support):

• Issue Diagnosis: Proactively identify and troubleshoot complex technical problems reported by customers or internal teams.
• Problem Resolution: Provide comprehensive solutions to resolve technical issues, ensuring minimal disruption to customer operations.
• Incident Management: Manage high-priority incidents, ensuring timely resolution and effective communication with stakeholders.
• Escalation Management: Escalate unresolved issues to higher-level technical experts or developers (L3), ensuring timely and effective resolution.

System and Process Improvement:

• Process Optimization: Proactively identify and implement improvements in L1 and L2 support processes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. This includes defining metrics to track, as well as metrics to display as user-facing (availability or other).
• Tools Improvement: Introduce and manage the right tools to handle support in an effective, efficient and scalable manner. Where necessary, drive the development and deployment of complementary tools and leverage last-generation technologies (kubernetes, pytorch, metabase, grafana, sentry).
• Feedback Loop: Provide feedback to development and product teams based on customer issues and support experiences to drive product improvements.
• Knowledge Sharing: Create and maintain a knowledge base of common issues and solutions to help the support team and customers.
• Cross-Department Collaboration: Work with cloud support teams at Ansys to identify synergies.

Minimum Education/Certification Requirements and Experience

• BS in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field with 8 years’ experience, MS with 6 years’ experience
• 5+ years in a Support Team, ideally in SaaS scaleups: Deep understanding of the technologies related to Web SaaS products.

Preferred Qualifications and Skills

• Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to diagnose and resolve complex technical issues.
• Communication: Excellent verbal and written communication skills to interact effectively with customers and team members.
• Customer Service: Driven by the willingness to satisfy user and customers with high-quality support, especially when things do not go as expected
• Tools and Software: Proficiency with support tools and software, such as ticketing systems (e.g., Zendesk, Shortcut, Jira), remote support tools, and monitoring systems. Experience with Python, typescript and vue3. Software development certification or experience on open-source software is a plus.
• Ability to learn quickly and to collaborate with others in a geographically distributed team, and to mentor junior developers